Author: RideCoordinator

Position on "Idaho Stop" Bill, Change in Meeting Time, & Call to Action!

Posted on by RideCoordinator

The GEARs Board met yesterday afternoon and came to agreement that as an organization GEARs supports HB2690, otherwise known as the “Idaho Stop Bill” that would allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs.

The April 13th GEARs Meeting has also been rescheduled to allow Board and general members to make public comments about the cities position at the April 13 City Council Meeting. The new meeting will be held on April 27th at 7:00 pm at the Keystone.

Background:
A letter was written (download PDF) by the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator on behalf of the Inter-Governmental Relations Committee (IGR) without consulting the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) or the bike community at large. In that letter the City stated it’s position as opposing the bill. Because of the reaction from the bike community to that letter the IGR (made up of three city council members) re-evaluated their position and two members changed from “Oppose” to “Neutral”. Because it was no longer unanimous it automatically goes to the full City Council for a vote to support, oppose, or be neutral on the bill. And that is where GEARs members come in.

A CALL TO ACTION:
GEARs members are encouraged to attend the City Council Meeting and share your opinion on the Bill and/or the city’s process in developing their position. They are reconsidering the City’s position and will likely be voting that night. Time for public comment is at the beginning of the meeting- Monday, April 13th at 7:30 p.m. Get there early to sign in. There will also be a lot of skateboarders there to support the new Washington/Jefferson Park so it will be a great show of Active Transportation modes- we’ll be taking over and letting the Council know that we want to see change in priorities to more healthy, safe, and sustainable transportation options and we want the City to communicate with us!

The BPAC will also be discussing this issue and taking a position at their meeting this evening- 5:30 p.m., Atrium Building, Sloat Room.

And finally, there was a Guest Viewpoint in todays Register Guard from our Vice-President, Jay Klein.

City Works to Change Gears

Posted on by RideCoordinator

After the City of Eugene’s letter in opposition to the “Idaho Stop Bill” appeared last week the local cycling community has been active in their response to the “out of left field” obstruction on this bill.  During the first hearing in Salem the letter in opposition surprised not only the local biking community but also the statewide advocacy organization, the BTA (Bicycle Transportation Alliance). There has been a lot of discussion over the past several days over how this happened. Why didn’t the BTA communicate with the local cycling community about this bill in preparation for the Salem hearing, especially if they knew cities were going to be giving statements regarding the bill? Why wasn’t the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee not used by City staff in their advisory roll? How could GEARS have been more on top of the legislation that was coming up? Why did the City oppose it?

A lot of questions were asked but one of the most important ones was, how can we change this opposition?

Today we got our answer. After several calls to the Mayor and City Council members, including the three who make up the IGR (Inter-Governmental Relations) committee (Betty Taylor, Andrea Ortiz, and George Poling) the IGR has decided to change their position from opposition to neutral. In reference to the IGRs change in position Mayor Kitty Piercy said she thought it was “a good move.” It’s not a 180 degree turn in support but it certainly means that we as a bike community were heard!

There is still a good amount of work to be done to educate the community, our leaders, City staff, and from the BTA’s perspective the state legislature on this bill, but having Eugene change from opposition to neutral is no small step in helping the process I’m sure. There are many points of discussion to have regarding this bill; why isn’t this already the law, should it be the law, is it too confusing, will it hurt our children, is the timing right, etc? But I think the main point of what has been happening over the last week is that we missed out on that conversation and now I think we have that chance. Now is the time to read up on the legislation if you haven’t already:
You can find the pdf of the complete text here
Check out bikeportland.org for other coverage of the Idaho Stop Law
Read the Ray Thomas article on the bill
See the BTA’s FAQ regarding the bill.
To engage other GEARs members in discussion sign up to the Google discussion group (from the GEARs homepage).

If you’d like to thank the IGR for their change of position or if you’d like them to go even further to support the bill then write your council member or come to the City Council Meeting on April 13th.  You are the cable that helps to move the gears, get connected and join in the change.

Transportation Secretary- 2 Foot-NM Law & Portland Bans Motorized Traffic

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Some exciting news!

DOT Secretary announces “2-foot NM” policy to reduce GHG emissions
Washington, D.C. – 4/1/09: U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood vowed to become America’s first green transportation czar, narrowly edging out California Governor and fellow Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger who reportedly planned to make a similar announcement at 7:30 a.m. PDT. Speaking during the morning rush hour from Union Station, one of Washington, DC’s busiest transportation hubs, LaHood proclaimed: “To curb greenhouse gas emissions, USDOT calls on Americans to curb their cars. Alternative fuels alone won’t give us the climate change results the American people now demand.”

LaHood criticized environmental groups and Al Gore for an “appalling lack of vision” in merely returning to 1990 GHG levels. “Thirty-eight state DOTs including California have already agreed to reduce transportation-related GHG emissions to 1890 levels by December 31st,” LaHood confirmed today in announcing USDOT’s compulsory “2-foot NM” rule, which will require all trips of two miles or less be made using two feet with no motor.

“Persons with disabilities can continue to use motorized wheelchairs and other assistive devices, and of course USDOT is working to make clean-fuel public transit a convenient option for every American,” he said. LaHood promised to rely on voluntary compliance. Indeed, widespread acceptance is expected after last week’s gas tax hike of $19.99 per gallon, hastily passed by Congress and signed by the President to pay for earlier bailouts/stimulus packages. The gas tax was required to remedy what experts throughout the world called a glaring omission: the lack of a stimulus “green screen” to assure support for green jobs, environmental stewardship, and life on the planet.

The 2-foot NM rule takes effect April 16th pending adoption of administrative rules expected to tax car parking benefits at 200% of value while giving bicycle commuters an additional $200 per week in tax-free bicycle shop vouchers. Mark Fenton of the PBS TV-show America’s Walking speculated, “2-foot NM is a shoe-in to build a robust walking industry finally capable of demanding similar commuter benefits for people who walk on America’s main streets. It’s about time.”

The National Bicycle Dealers Association immediately applauded LaHood’s proclamation. NBDA’s advocacy spokesperson Roland Wheel said NBDA anticipated this day and was poised to hire and train 200,000 former GM factory workers to build bicycles. Workers who complete their retraining and remain on the job for 90 days will receive a fully outfitted American-made bicycle as an incentive/health care benefit, a provision strikingly similar to GM’s proposed union contract.

Acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson also saluted the new rule. Stepping up to the microphone after LaHood’s announcement, Galson predicted that Americans who make most of their daily trips on foot or by bicycle will drop at least two sizes by 2010. “The 2-foot NM rule is an affordable prescription for America’s obesity epidemic. It might also stimulate the slumping fashion industry,” Galson noted.

Portland, Ore., Bans Motorized Traffic
Portland, Ore. – 4/1/09: Portland Mayor Sam Adams announced today that the city will ban all non-commercial motorized traffic from its streets effective May 1, 2009. Commercial vehicles will be allowed access to a limited number of roadway sections at certain times of day. Transit vehicles will not be affected by the measure, which is expected to prompt a boom in the bike trailer industry as people scramble to find alternatives for moving stuff around. Although critics complained that the measure was too stringent, Adams defended it. “This will cement Portland’s status as the premier bicycle-friendly city in the U.S. Let’s see if Davis can top this,” he said.

Nationally, reactions to the ban were mixed. Perhaps the most extreme came from Houston, where the city council acted quickly to prohibit citizens from walking farther than their garages and put a bounty on bicyclists. (Many here see the bounty as merely official recognition of de-facto circumstances.) Long-time resident Tex Ohlman explained, “We don’t want people to walk or bicycle here anyway. Houston’s economy depends on oil, so by stimulating demand we’re acting in our own self-interest. Besides, we’re really cheesed off at those green freaks in Oregon.”

~From the APBP News~

On a local note, representatives from the BTA met with GEARS and City of Eugene transportation planners to make Eugene’s own “motorized vehicle ban” and to talk about the effects of the 2-foot NM Policy.

Stop-to-Yield Law & Stimulus Funded Bike Bridge

Posted on by RideCoordinator

So once again bikeportland.org seems to be the place to go even for EUGENE bike news!  Jonathan has a post about Lee Shoemakers opposition to the “Idaho Stop Law” with a copy of the letter Lee sent to the Legislature, there are a lot of comments and some not too flattering towards Eugene, including one from “carfree in pdx” stating

Having lived in Eugene for several years, I would take anything that comes from the city of Eugene with a huge grain of salt. Typical of them is their complete lack of logic…

and

They do have good bike paths (MUPs), but the cyclability of the city is more due to its small size than because they have their planning and policies in order (they don’t); the fact that people cycle there is more in spite of city policies than because of them.

and this gem from “Coyote”:

But frankly, bicycle advocacy left Eugene with Reagan inauguration. They have been a few bicycle heroes in public life in Eugene, Ruth Bascomb and Peter DeFazio come immediately to mind, and Floyd Prozanski in a lycra sort of way, but most Eugene politicians can’t say the word bicycle without stumbling. Usually they stumble over their Prius.

Granted, I get a little huffy when Portlandites talk down about Eugene but at times I have to agree that things aren’t great right now.  Sure we have some good infrastructure, some great planning staff, and some great energy going on at GEARS (and at the University too) but we do have a long way to go and we do have a big stumbling block with not one City council member who rides a bike or any major city administrators who bike for transportation regularly, and some city staff who still struggle with the idea as bikes as a viable transportation option.    We have some major ground to make up and we need the kind of energy that got the 70’s era infrastructure built but double fold.  We need more infrastructure but we also need more education & encouragement.  Portland is where they are because they have put that investment in.

On that positive note Paul and I went out and toured the site of the new bike bridge that will start construction this summer connecting the Delta Ponds and the River path system with the Willagillespie neighborhood (and the whole North of Eugene).  Besides being a great way for that whole region of Eugene to access the river path system it provides the whole area with a great link over the Delta Highway which currently has poor access at Valley River Drive and Good Pasture Island Road- certainly not bike friendly for families and children!    I also like to think of this bridge as completing the Mall to Mall bikeway system… when this bridge is built you can bike from one big mall to another on mellow neighborhood streets and fly over the traffic on Delta Highway and I-5 on beautiful bridges.

Okay, I’m being a little silly but how about a Movie Tour?  If the movie you wanted to see isn’t playing at the Bijou you can head downtown, see what’s playing at the David Minor theatre, then down to the river path to see what is playing at VRC and if that still doesn’t have it maybe the cheap theatre at Gateway is playing something at the dollar theatre. And the whole trip can be done (mostly) on quiet streets.

Anyway, I think this bridge is going to be a great addition to the bike network system in Eugene. The bridge is getting started a year ahead of schedule thanks to the funding from the Federal stimulus package and though not a lot of bike/ped projects got funding from those federal dollars at least we got some pretty good crumbs.  I’ve posted some Flickr shots of the brief tour if your interested.

And finally on a whole other note I wanted to remind folks to keep an eye on the GEARS “Bicycling in the Greater Eugene Area” calendar for great biking events throughout the area. They are not just GEARS rides and events but great speakers, workshops, classes, and other fun centered around the wonderful bike culture we’re working to nourish in our town. Come join the ride.

Oregon's Own "Idaho Stop Law"?

Posted on by RideCoordinator

(updated post after Jonathan Maus interpreted this post as not “too supportive of the Idaho Stop”- GEARS hasn’t taken a position yet so I was trying to be a bit neutral, maybe to a fault?)*

GEARS hasn’t officially met to discuss this issue yet but I think that as cyclists we all know the realities of riding our cities streets and the true nature of how cyclists treat stop signs.   Even well intentioned, well trained, and conscious cyclists rarely come to a complete stop at stop signs.  With such great visibility, hearing, agility, and slow approach speeds it becomes clear how different cyclists are in their ability to assess the hazards posed at intersections with stop signs and how this law could actually help cyclists navigate our streets in a safe and legal manner and maybe even allow better enforcement of those who blatantly blow stops signs with no regard for others right of way.

That being said, as an LCI bike educator one of the mantras we live by is that “cyclists fare best when they act like and are treated as drivers of vehicles.”  Because that is what we are, vehicles.  So why should we have different laws that treat us differently?  Is it a slippery slope?  Will it be easier for the legislation to then change laws that restrict us from the roadways?  We already have one example of that type of restrictive “special law” and it’s the “Far Right” law that requires cyclists to ride as far right as “practicable” and also the mandatory bike lane law. Though there are exceptions to the laws they are still special laws that are limiting and are used against cyclists claiming their right to the full lane when they feel it is safer to do so.  Would this law encourage more of these types of laws or would it maker it easier and even safer for cyclists in Oregon?

*I personally think this would be a great change in the legal system for cyclists.  I would like to see more enforcement of cyclists blowing stop signs (by blowing I mean not yielding) and this law would make it so those who are acting as safe and considerate cyclists could continue to act as they do on the roadway; stopping for others when they have the right of way or continuing through if it is safe and those who do not could be penalized.  And maybe be required to take a bike ed class like some of the ones GEARS is offering this summer??

Here is a post from bikeportland.org that gives an idea of the BTAs position on the bill.  For more coverage on the issue see bikeportlands Idaho Stop Law coverage.

Full text of Karl Rohde’s Idaho Stop testimony

Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor) on March 19th, 2009 at 10:54 am

Below is the full, prepared text of Karl Rohde’s testimony in front of the House Transportation Committee yesterday on behalf of the Idaho Stop law. Rohde is in charge of the BTA’s government affairs and he is their lobbyist in Salem.

(For a full report from that hearing, read our story from yesterday.)

Chair Beyer and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today in support of House Bill 2690, the “Idaho Style Stop Law”. For the record, I am Karl Rohde, Government Relations and Public Affairs for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

The BTA firmly believes that this law is in the best interest of all users of the road. The BTA is committed to safety and would never support a bill that we felt might jeopardize someone’s safety.

This bill does not decriminalize bad behavior, it decriminalizes good behavior, bad behavior would still be illegal and we will continue to work in collaboration with law enforcement to address the truly unsafe behavior that this law would not protect.

Most cyclists have a high degree of self-preservation and are not going to engage in unnecessarily dangerous behavior. By the very nature of the vehicle cyclists travel on, they have a higher degree of awareness of their surroundings. They sit up higher, they have no blind spots and they are not in an enclosed environment so their hearing is not affected. The letter from researcher Jason Meggs goes into greater detail on this.

The existing law, is a discouragement to cycling. Around 60% of the public are interested in cycling but have concerns for their safety and convenience. They would prefer to ride on low volume, low speed residential streets, however, in the interest of traffic calming, those streets are often loaded with stop signs to discourage automobiles from cutting through neighborhood streets. So the citizen choosing to bike to his or her destination is faced with a difficult choice—do I take the neighborhood street with all it’s stops and starts or do I move over to the high volume street will I can travel at a faster pace amongst all that traffic. Or, worse, do I accept that in order to get to my destination safely and conveniently, I’m just going to have to be an outlaw.

In our original concept of the bill, we had included a provision that would allow local jurisdictions to sign certain intersections that were determined to pose an extreme hazard with a required stop for bikes sign. We were contacted by Legislative Counsel and informed that because such a sign does not exist in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, referencing it in legislation could not happen. We are still willing to entertain this concept and work with the Committee to address it.

Joining me to testify today are

  • Attorney Ray Mionskie
  • Attorney Ray Thomas
  • Corvallis Resident Kris Warloe
  • Chair of the BTA Legislative Committee, Doug Parrow [Parrow did not testify]

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is a statewide non-profit organization that works to open minds and roads to bicycling. We represent bicyclists and the bicycle industry with over 5000 members in Oregon and SW Washington, and have seventeen years of experience in bicycle engineering, planning, education and advocacy.

Local Alice Award Winner- GEARs Advocacy & Education Director

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Last night at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s Alice Awards our
local award nominee brought home the hardware and was recognized as a
leader in bike advocacy this past year.

Shane Rhodes was the final recipient of the Alice Awards last night in
Portland, where four other recipients were recognized. We had a table
of 10 folks up from Eugene to help represent GEARs, the City of
Eugene, and the energized bike culture here. Shane is the Safe Routes
to School program coordinator in the 4J School District as well as a
member of the City’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Council, and the
GEARs Education and Advocacy Director.

We will celebrate his success and achievement with Cake and Coffee,
during the GEARs Member Meeting on Monday March 9th,
at 8pm at the Keystone Cafe at 5th and Lawrence. The GEARs Board
Meeting with preceed this Member meeting at 7pm.

Here is the profile for Shane that the BTA provided.
http://www.bta4bikes.org/btablog/2009/03/03/alice-award-nominee-shane-rhodes/

Congratulations Shane! Thanks for all your hard work to make Eugene a
better place to bike.